First the French, now the Spanish. You can always tell it’s summertime when air traffic controllers start rattling their sabres. And next week it’s the turn of Spain’s flight fixers to abandon their control towers and stage a walkout as part of a phased plan of industrial action. That is, believe it or not, being sparked by the USCA union’s refusal to accept penalties imposed by AENA following a previous wildcat strike back in 2010.
Either way, if you’re travelling to Lanzarote over the next week then here are the relevant dates; June 8th, 10th, 12th and 14th.
But just how much disruption will be caused?
That’s hard to say as the planned walkouts are limited to four hours per day (10am to 12 in the morning and 6pm to 8pm in the afternoon) on the above dates. And it is also possible to fly to Lanzarote from the UK and Eire without technically having to cross Spanish air space.
However the knock on effect of this sort of action can be considerable and certainly the last time Spain’s controllers went on strike things got so militantly out of hand that the military had to step into the fray and take over control towers across the country.
So if you do find yourself subjected to serious delay, or worse cancellation, then we have produced a full guide to your passenger rights which you can read all about here.
It’s important to note that under current regulations flight operators in Europe are not obliged to compensate holidaymakers for lost accommodation costs. The current cover only extends to package holidays and flights. So it’s advisable for independent travelers to ensure that any travel insurance policy they have taken out plugs this gap.
This ruling looks set to change over the next couple of years though after new EU rules were agreed last week that extends cover to consumers who book flights and accommodation separately.
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